Month: October 2015

ROCK STAR, the Striplac shade (5ml) which was on back order, arrived and I couldn’t wait to get it on my fingertips. Black with a shimmer sparkle of deep teal, it’s a gorgeous rock chic colour (and perfect for coming Halloween).

Unlike the regular shades, this says shake well before application to disperse the shimmer particles. It covered beautifully in two coats but I had to take care not to apply too thickly. I did get some puckering under UV on the first coat but it disappeared with the second.

As I mentioned with my first try of a 5ml bottle, I like the shorter brush in this size as it feels more precise.

They call it Grey Silk, but my newest Striplac colour reminds me of mercury rising in a thermometer…

A deep pewter grey, it’s one of several iridescent shades added to the range and available in a new 5ml size. These smaller bottles have a shorter brush head (about 2/3rd the length of the 8ml size) which I found made the gel easier to apply.

Needless to say I ordered several colours but Grey Silk is the first to make it to my nails and I got great opacity with two coats, no shrinking from the nail edges. As with all pearlised polishes, you have to take care that you stroke straight from cuticle to fingertip. It has great glimmer when wet but has dulled after the top coat – which is a bit disappointing as the shine is usually brilliant with gels.

Other shades in my bag

Pret a Porter – brilliant red shimmer which is a cert for Christmas (too early for that word!)

Silk Champagne – fudge shimmer

Rouge Noir – deep purple, very like Dark Rubin but without the faint shimmer (full size)

and, on back order, I am awaiting Rock Star – another newbie black with blue/turquoise shimmer. Bring it on!

Wear update 19/10/2015

Grey Silk didn’t behave like any of the other dozen or so Striplac shades I have tried. Normally my nails feel strong after a Striplac application and the product peels off easily. With Grey Silk, they stayed very soft and flexible, plus removal took ages, even with copious applications of Activator. I was teasing it off in tiny pieces which were much softer than the normal peelings which often come off intact. It lasted but I didn’t feel as confident as usual. Maybe I’ll try a double base coat another time.